CASE STUDY

Client: Minnesota Vikings Football Club, LLC

The client

Minnesota Vikings Football Club, LLC, owns and operates a professional sports team, which competes in the National Football League. The Minnesota Vikings, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, are one of the National Football League's most established and recognized franchises. The team was founded in 1961, and branded the "Vikings" because it represented both the will to succeed and the proud Nordic tradition of the northern Midwest.

The Challenge

The Vikings required a national brand, strategic partner with experience and expertise in the consumer and commercial electronics industries, with a diverse and deep portfolio of products, devices and services. They needed a trusted partner who could seamlessly aggregate multiple vendor partners under one roof, and deliver a one-stop-shop experience comprised of the best possible solutions to solve the complex audio and visual needs of the project.

"We cannot underestimate the importance and value of the Best Buy team's knowledge and experience in the audio, visual and consumer electronics category. Their contribution to the successful completion of U.S. Bank Stadium was crucial to us integrating the perfect mix of flexible technology which enhanced the game day fan experience. We were very pleased to have had the chance to work directly with Best Buy for this complicated project."

-John Penhollow, VP of Corporate & Technology Partnerships

The Solution

Originally the Vikings contacted Best Buy inquiring about our interest and ability to provide televisions for the concourses, club areas and suites of their new stadium. In the beginning of the engagement, the Vikings were not aware of the breadth of Best Buy's portfolio of solutions and services, which includes enterprise pre-sales engineering, AV consulting, project management, product innovation laboratories, the world-famous Geek Squad® and our unmatched 1,100-store national footprint.

Over the next 24 months, the Vikings benefited from Best Buy's ability to:

Leverage its significant buying power with its vendor partners

Seamlessly navigate between the commercial and consumer product categories

Design, test and deploy custom integration solutions

Provide on-site installation training

Leverage its local stores to serve as a product warehouse and support centers

When the project was completed, Best Buy had provided over 2,200 commercial and consumer panels, video walls, locker room touch screens and custom video distribution integration solutions. Best Buy was also integral in supplying customized mounting and bracket solutions, appliances for all levels of suites, tablets and hand-held devices for game day operations, and video control room and stadium security room panel solutions. On the right Geek Squad® pre-sales engineer original sketch, illustrating an entirely new custom cable integration solution connecting the video distribution system to the flat panels we provided and the finished solution.

Best Buy's ability to leverage the power of the entire enterprise provided a client experience currently unmatched in the sports & entertainment industry. Best Buy and its strategic partners' ability to deliver a seamless, end-to-end, one-stop-shop solution, along with the strength and flexibility provided by local Best Buy retail stores, differentiates Best Buy from all competitors in this space. We are not simply a provider of products-we are a partner in your business.

Leveraging our vendor partners and supply chain: Commercial and consumer flat panels and consumer appliances are installed throughout US Bank Stadium's five premium suite options and six club spaces. In addition, a mix of commercial and consumer-grade static/multi-panel motion displays were installed along concourses and concession stands (includes digital menu boards).

The Continuing Relationship

Currently, the Vikings have requested Best Buy to advise and provide them with a more efficient and effective in-suite audio solution option which, if approved, will be deployed for the 2017 season and the 2018 Big Game. Best Buy is also developing several joint-venture community projects, as well as teaming with our corporate retail and Magnolia partners in creating a Vikings team and staff pilot concierge program.